1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a control device for an internal combustion engine, and relates also to a method of controlling an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-45287 (JP 2015-45287 A) describes an internal combustion engine mounted in a vehicle and provided with an oil pump configured to vary a discharge amount of oil, and variable valve timing mechanisms operated by the oil supplied from the oil pump.
In such an internal combustion engine, the power that the oil pump receives from an output shaft of the internal combustion engine is required to be kept at the minimum necessary in order to enhance the fuel efficiency. That is, a discharge amount of oil from the oil pump is required to be decreased. On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure the high responsiveness of operation of the variable valve timing mechanisms that operate using the hydraulic fluid supplied from the oil pump as a power source.
In view of this, a control device for an internal combustion engine in JP 2015-45287 A is configured to calculate a consumption flow rate during the operation of each variable valve timing mechanism based on the difference between a target phase and an actual phase of the variable valve timing mechanism, and correct a discharge amount of oil from the oil pump so as to increase the discharge amount based on the consumption flow rate (to increase a target hydraulic pressure). Thus, the high responsiveness of the operations of the variable valve timing mechanisms is ensured while the fuel efficiency is enhanced.